Boseman had cancer while visiting patients at St. Jude
Late ‘Black Panther’ star brought toys, ‘joy’ in 2018
Two years after being diagnosed with stage III colon cancer, actor Chadwick Boseman visited cancer patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. “Had a birthday celebration with a beautiful little princess, Mady,” he tweeted along with photos from the hospital of him posing by a little girl with a huge smile, surrounded by “Black Panther” collectibles. “She let me throw the confetti twice. I think I had as much fun as she did. #Stjude.”
Saturday, roughly two years after that visit, fans of Boseman are reeling with the news of his death at 43 years old after his cancer progressed to stage IV. “A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” read a tweet announcing his death Friday night. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honor of his career to bring King T’challa to life in Black Panther.”
In an emotional press conference before his death, Boseman shared about communicating with terminally ill cancer patients during the filming of “Black Panther” and how much they looked forward to the film.
“It put me back in the mind of being a kid just to experience those two little boys’ anticipation of this movie,” Boseman said. “And when I found out that they — yeah. It means a lot.”
In a tweet, St. Jude posted that they were “deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Chadwick Boseman.” “Two years ago, Chadwick visited the St. Jude campus and brought with him not only toys for our patients but also joy, courage and inspiration,” they posted. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.